Winter 2022 Australian SKA Office update
CSIRO’s Chris Brayton at the joint SKA booth at the Mid West Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Aboriginal Business Forum. Credit: MWCCI and Aboriginal Business Forum.
As I write this update in Canberra, the day has reached its maximum temperature of 8 degrees and I’m wishing we had the Mid West’s weather.
At least borders are now open across the country, and representatives from our team have been able to make several trips for very productive meetings with the Wajarri Yamaji Indigenous Land Use Agreement negotiation team.
On 9 June, Australia’s Industry Liaison Officer, Anthony Holzwart, also took advantage of the open borders to travel to Geraldton to meet face to face with businesses interested in subcontracting for SKA Observatory contracts.
The Mid West Aboriginal Business Forum took place in the Queens Park Theatre and attracted over 200 people seeking to cultivate their skills and collaborate in long term business relationships. The SKA booth was one of the more distinctive at the event with people fascinated to learn more about the world-leading science facility due to be built in their region.
Many thanks to the Mid West Chamber of Commerce for holding the event and to CSIRO for facilitating the SKA booth.
In other news, following the recent Federal Election, the Hon Ed Husic MP has been appointed Minister for Industry and Science. Minister Husic is a keen supporter of the SKA project and one of his first visits after being sworn in was to the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre in Perth.
Until next time – stay safe.
Ben Scandrett, Executive Manager, Australian SKA Office